The Blair County Arts Hall of Fame inducted several new members in award ceremonies at the Mishler Theatre, in Altoona, in August 2007. Among those inducted were Tyrone native Fred Waring (in the Performing Arts category) along with two other men with Tyrone connections: Michael and Louis Beezer, twin brothers, who were inducted in the Public Art/Architecture category.
Born in 1869 in Spring Creek, near Bellefonte, the Beezer brothers moved to Altoona in 1892. Here they began their three-decade partnership, becoming the most prominent architects in the area during the turn of the century. Although expressing disdain for fad architecture and remarking on the “fantastic proportions” and “vulgar conglomerations of roof and porch lines” that they believed were disfiguring landscapes, they became known for what was considered highly ornamental style.
The Beezer brothers practiced in Altoona from 1892 until 1899; then, they moved to Pittsburgh from 1900 to 1906, and finally in Seattle, Wash. from 1907 to 1932.
One of the buildings they designed was the First National Bank, in Tyrone. Known as the Jones Building, the First National Bank was built in 1906 on the northeast corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and 10th St., and at the time cost $125,000.
The bank was one of the fireproof buildings designed by the Beezer Brothers that employed their patented floor system. They incorporated the Beaux Arts style in the bank, along with eagles with spread wings.
Louis Beezer died in 1929, and Michael died in 1933. But more than a century later, their designs remain an integral part of neighborhoods in western Pennsylvania.
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